Do you recognize this photo?
What about these?
They were all taken with a Hasselblad camera.
It's a name every photographer knows.
But if you wanted to buy this Hasselblad camera,
you'd need over $30,000.
And that doesn't even include the lens.
So why would anyone pay so much for a camera?
And what makes Hasselblads so expensive?
To understand why people love Hasselblad cameras,
it helps to look at this image.
If you zoom way in,
you can see incredible detail.
The photos are fantastic,
but it's a little more complicated than that.
Hasselblad has been making cameras for 80 years,
but they weren't always this expensive.
In 1948, Hasselblad's first consumer camera
cost around $500,
or about $5,900 today.
And, adjusted for inflation,
its film cameras from the '70s
cost around $5,300.
But when the company transitioned to digital,
the price exploded.
In 2004, Hasselblad's first digital camera
sold for around $24,000.
That was more than a 200% price increase
from its previous model, which used film.
OK, so it's expensive.
But what actually makes this camera different?
Hasselblad's high-end cameras
consist of three main parts,
the digital back, the body, and the lens.
Just the digital back,
which includes the sensor,
costs over $26,000.
Rudnickas: The Hasselblad sensor is unique
in a way that it's much larger in area.
The individual pixel is bigger,
and that provides a lower noise
and wider dynamic range.
Narrator: Take a look at this photo of a motorcycle.
When you zoom in,
you can clearly see the texture of the handle
and the wear on its tires.
Larger sensors capture more detail,
and Hasselblad's is one of the biggest available.
Its cameras are what's called medium format.
Basically, it means the sensor is big,
and it's what makes these cameras so expensive.
Your smartphone camera sensor is around this big.
A popular professional camera,
like the Sony A7R, is much larger.
But it looks tiny compared to Hasselblad's sensor.
Rudnickas: When medium-format technology
transitioned from analog to digital,
the medium-format sensors became extremely expensive
and the camera systems became
extremely expensive and very niche.
Narrator: The sensor in this camera
is actually made by Sony,
but Hasselblad has its own
proprietary calibration process
to achieve the colors and image quality it wants.
Rudnickas: It's very useful for the skin tones
or the reproduction of artwork,
where you really need to make sure
that the colors you have in real life
are the ones that will end up
later in the photographs.
Narrator: Medium-format cameras are mainly used
for product and fashion photography
as well as art reproduction.
Photographers who need this type
of specialized technology
can't use off-the-shelf consumer cameras.
And these shoots usually take place in a studio,
where the camera's bulky size isn't an issue.
But there's another factor
that makes Hasselblad cameras unique.
Unlike other companies,
Hasselblad doesn't mass-produce its cameras.
It makes them in small batches assembled by hand.
This is partly because Hasselblad
doesn't make that many cameras.
Hasselblad doesn't disclose
exactly how many cameras it makes,
but in 2018, The Verge reported
that Hasselblad's yearly production
was under 10,000 units.
Other manufacturers, like Canon,
produce millions of cameras each year.
But this process also ensures
that each camera meets Hasselblad's quality standards.
Gorges: Here in production, we have people that
work here for over 30 years.
And for special tasks,
we have people that, they just do that task.
Nobody else can do that.
Narrator: Hasselblad assembles its cameras here,
in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Remember this old photo?
Production today looks pretty similar.
Its facility is more like a lab
than an assembly line.
Here, each component is tested,
connected, and soldered.
But learning how to adjust each part isn't easy.
Assemblers rely on both precise instruments
and the sound and feel of each component
to know that it's working properly.
My favorite part is the mirror assembly,
this part.
[part clicking]
I know that's not working well because of the click.
You have to work here maybe,
just assembling these parts,
maybe months until you're capable of making it right.
Narrator: When you charge $30,000 for a camera,
quality control is a top priority.
And assemblers take their job very seriously.
Gorges: The whole process requires a lot of patience.
You will end up learning to be very careful
while mounting these tiny parts.
Otherwise, you will run into different issues
afterwards while testing the camera.
Narrator: Assemblers complete a camera
in around six to eight hours.
But calibration can take up to a third of that time.
Rudnickas: What's unique about Hasselblad cameras
is that each sensor
is individually calibrated and tested
to a single pixel level,
which is very time-consuming
and quite unique in this industry.
Narrator: But pressure to deliver
consumer-focused cameras has increased.
In the past few years, Hasselblad has released
more affordable cameras, around $6,000.
These cameras have a smaller sensor
compared to other more expensive models.
But competition in this price range is steep.
Sony's latest Alpha 1 camera costs a bit more,
but it can shoot 8K video
and has superfast autofocus.
And while the sensors on cheaper cameras aren't as large,
those cameras pack more features
that appeal to a wide range of photographers.
Hasselblad says that it's working to introduce
more entry-level medium-format cameras
but that it will continue to support
its high-end customers.
And for many photographers
who need uncompromising image quality,
this Hasselblad continues to be worth the price.